Sunday, March 27, 2011

Clippers' 16 hits, Paolo Espino's pitching key playoff series-clinching win: Minor league report

Columbus routs Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 11-5, to advance to International League championship series. Espino's seven strong innings backed by hitting of Josh Rodriguez, Drew Sutton and Wes Hodges.

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AAA Columbus Clippers

Clippers 11, Yankees 5 Shortstop Josh Rodriguez slugged a three-run home run to key a seven-run fourth inning, and starter and winner Paolo Espino pitched seven strong innings as the Clippers clinched their International League playoff series, three games to one, at Scranton-Wilkes, Barre, Pa. Columbus will play for the title against either Louisville or Durham in the best-of-five Governor's Cup Final beginning on Tuesday night in Columbus. The right-handed Espino gave up two runs on five hits and no walks with six strikeouts. 1B Drew Sutton had three of the Clippers' 16 hits and three RBI, two of them on a third-inning single for a 3-1 lead. DH Wes Hodges lined a two-run single during the fourth-inning rally that put the Clippers ahead, 10-2. Rodriguez and Hodges also had doubles.

Notes: Third baseman Jared Goedert doubled and singled, and RF Jose Constanza and CF Ezequiel Carrera both had two singles as all nine Clippers in the starting lineup had at least one hit....Carrera was 7-of-15 (.467) in the series, with one homer, one double, six runs, three RBI, four walks and two stolen bases....OF Jerad Head was 5-of-13 (.385) with a double, four runs and two RBI....1B-OF Drew Sutton was 6-of-18 (.333) with a double, three RBI and two runs....1B-DH Wes Hodges was 4-of-16 (.250) with one homer, one doubles, five RBI and three runs....RH reliever Zach Putnam faced six batters in the series and got them all out, four on strikeouts....RH reliever Josh Judy retired all seven batters he faced, striking out two.... Counting their playoff appearances, Putnam has allowed one run (unearned) while going 1-0 in his last 12 games, fanning 19, walking three and giving up five hits in 16 1/3 innings; Judy has allowed one run (unearned) in his last 10 games, fanning 14 while yielding five hits and two walks in 11 1/3 innings....The Clippers will play for in the Governor's Cup Final for the first time since 1997. They last won the title in 1996.

A Lake County Captains

Captains postponed Game 1 of the Eastern Division finals between Lake County and Great Lakes Loons was rained out. The game is rescheduled for 1 p.m. today at Classic Park in Eastlake.

Notes: RH reliever Preston Guilmet had saves in both of his first-round appearances against West Michigan. He pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out four while allowing two hits and no walks. Including the regular season and playoffs, and going into Saturday night's game, Guilmet was 4-1 with 13 saves and a 2.10 ERA. He had struck out 83, walked 10 and allowed 37 hits -- just three homers -- in 55 2/3 innings....Including his five-inning gem in Friday night's Game 3, RHP Jason Knapp has struck out 35 in 21 innings for the Captains in five games. Prior to joining the Captains, Knapp had fanned 18 in 12 1/3 innings over five outings in the Arizona League -- where, beginning in July, he pitched in games for the first time since having off-season shoulder surgery. In the 33 1/3 combined innings, Knapp, 20, is 2-2 with a 2.43 ERA and has given up just 19 hits -- including no homers. He has walked 13. Knapp, a 2008 second-round draft pick of the Phillies and considered an elite prospect, came to the Indians in the trade of Cliff Lee to Philadelphia last July....LHP Giovanni Soto went into his start on Saturday night with a 3-2 record and 3.77 ERA in six starts with the Captains since the Indians acquired him from West Michigan, a Detroit Tigers farm team, in exchange for Jhonny Peralta. In a combined 22 games -- all starts -- for the Captains and Whitecaps, Soto was 9-8 with a 2.93 ERA and two shutouts. He had struck out 107, walked 36 and held batters to a .237 average and seven homers in 113 2/3 innings....The Captains won the three-game series, 2-1, over West Michigan despite scoring just seven runs with a .226 batting average....OF Jason Smith was 3-of-8 (.375) with a home run and OF Tyler Holt was 4-of-11 (.364) with a double.

Source: http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2010/09/minor_league_report_42.html

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